With this whole process comes a lot of thoughts, with a lot of thoughts the need for an outlet arises...thus the blog.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Focusing on the good...

So we still have this one nasty little grant hanging out there somewhere. We were supposed to hear from them the last week in March first week of April and still we haven't heard anything. I sent an email to the main lady at Show Hope and just let her know I hadn't received anything yet and wondered if there maybe was a chance it was lost in the mail. Fat chance, but whatever. So the last couple weeks I've been really discouraged about the lack of progress in regards to our adoption and I just really want some movement. I can't control it, so I have to move on and focus on what IS good right now.

In the fall Tyler and I started to specifically pray for a place to live once our lease was up here. We knew that we'd need a bigger place, with a yard for the dogs (and kids) but there was a catch. We needed more house for LESS money. This was our prayer from the beginning. Now for those of you who don't know, we've moved a lot in our eight years of marriage. Ten times to be exact. Not because we buy and restore houses, flip them and make a profit, or because we enjoy moving it's just what life has brought us in these eight years. We've lived houses, apartments, and townhouses all with different amenities...some were fantastic and I was sad to leave and others I wish I could erase from my mind permanently. Here is what I wanted in our next home. Wood (my first choice) or tile floors (with two dogs...one being large and extra stinky) this was a deal breaker. I couldn't do carpet with animals, not to mention kids too! Small bedrooms, big living area. Big bedrooms are a waste when we spend 90% of our time in the living room. Fenced in back yard, not huge, just something the dogs could run around in and also a place where I could throw them when they're driving me nuts. Now the other things are just silly aesthetics I was wishing for....nice deep big kitchen sink, a fireplace, screened in porch, a place for a veggie garden, garage, and a kitchen to die for. You want to know what God gave us??? ALL OF THE ABOVE. No pet deposit. No security deposit. Seriously. No joke. Including the more house for less money. A direct answer to a prayer.

Oh and one more thing...the last few years we've had to pay out in taxes. Last year we had to pay over $1,000 to the IRS. The beginning of this year when we received our tax forms we began praying that we would not have to pay. We didn't pray for a big return or any return, just that there wouldn't be any money that we'd have to pay out. Tyler received a call today from our accountant...we aren't paying! IN FACT we are getting money back. For the first time since Tyler was a student. We are excited that God is blessing is. I mean truly these kinds of things never happen to us...ever, not even just a little bit.

So these next few lonely trips to the mailbox where I'm waiting for that last little piece of correspondence from our last grant...I'll focus on the good in life right now, not the silent.

Psalm 40:1-5

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord .4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord , who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.5 O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal.If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.